Winkler Dopplebock

I've talked about how all of the little towns have their own breweries and I'm finally getting around to trying the local one, Winkler.  The main brewery is in Amberg, about 20 minutes from here, and I think they have a local brewery in Vilseck-Schlicht.  Here's what I thought about their doppelbock.

The beer was a dark caramel color and had a rich head with the same caramel color.  Taste wise it has a smoky hoppy taste.  Not my favorite doppelbock, but it would do in a pinch.  I was actually disappointed since I really hoped the local brew would be something that would knock my socks off, or be a well kept secret.  No such luck.  Just a pretty decent offering but not something I would seek out if I ever moved out of the local area.

It's Official

It's official I'm calling off the Prague Marathon.  I just haven't put the time in that I should in order to run a decent race and that with it being on Mother's Day.  I might as well just stay home and run a few miles around here that day and then spend the rest of the day with Shantel and Macen.

The last week in Paris was the culmination.  We got stuck a few extra days due to the volcano eruption in Iceland and I'm just not motivated after getting back.  It was a great weather wise weekend and I didn't so much as even think about riding the bike or going for a run.

Paulaner Original Munchen Hell

This week's beer is the Paulaner Original Munchen Hell.  I'll be honest I've tried to stay away from the Paulaner beers since you can get them in the States.  But this beer and the Salvatore I had a couple of weeks ago make me want to change my mind.  They are just darn good.

A helles beer is a light colored lager that was introduced in the late 1800s to compete against the Czech Pilsners that were being introduced into Germany.  As you can see it's a golden color with a good head.  It goes down smooth without the bitterness that I've noticed that many of Pils have.  It does have a bit of malty flavor but it really isn't that noticeable.  Overall this beer really reminds of the popular light beers from the US, but that doesn't do the Paulaner Original Munchen Hell justice since it is not a light beer in the American sense.  The German's managed to make a smooth tasting light colored beer without watering it down or using ingredients other than water, barley, or hops.  This is a beer that I could drink all day and I'll definitely be looking for at the store.

Kallmünzer Frühlingslauf Halb Marathon

For those of you who don't read German, that's the Kallmunzer Spring Run Half Marathon. That was the race that I did on Saturday. Here's the review.

This was a great race in a picturesque little village on the Naab river in Central Bavaria. A friend of mine recommended that I do the triathlon that the local sports club here puts on but I'll be deployed when it takes place so I did the Spring Run Half Marathon instead. The route takes you through the cobblestoned village center and over the Naab on a stone bridge that was built in the 1500s and then along the Naab until the turn around point and back.

We ran down river so it was mostly downhill on the out leg with a tailwind to push you. It was a little chilly at the start of the race so I ended up leaving my half zip Nike waffle jacket on over the top of a long sleeved running shirt. At about the 4 mile mark I was starting to heat up pretty good and was beginning to wonder if that haden't been a tactical mistake on my part. But when I turned around and headed back up the river and I caught the wind full in may face I was really glad I had it.

I really struggled on the return leg with the generally up hill grade as well as the head wind.  In combination they really cut into my average that with the lack of any significant distance in the last few weeks was telling as I hit the well at about mile 10 and I was forced to speed walk a couple of times. Overall I only finished 29 seconds off my personel record for the half marathon with a time of 1:55:26. I'd really wanted to go under 1:50 and probably could have if that darn wall hadn't popped up. Here are some pictures.

Feeling good at the start.  Little did I know what I was in for.

I don't look like I'm enjoying it quite as much as I was in the earlier picture, do I?  That darn wall took it all out of me.

A beer and a putensteaksemmel (grilled chicken breast sandwich) at the end of the race.  Damn the beer tasted good.  I went back for a second and since there were no putensteaksemmels done I got a bratwurstsemmel and another beer.  We didn't make it all the way home before I started feeling quesy, Shantel had to make two emergency stops, one for me to hurl and then one for me find a bathroom.  I didn't even drink a quarter of the second beer.  I'm blaming the grease  from the bratwurst.

Macen really wanted to run with Dadda, so I signed him up for the 400m Bambino run, he got his own number and timing chip and here you see him hydrating before he runs just like dad.  At the starting gun he jumped out of the stroller and started to take off and then stopped.  Evidently he didn't want to run with the other kids, he wanted to run Dad's race.  Sorry buddy 400m is about your speed these days, it's going to take awhile to work up to 13.1 miles.

This was the sight that dominated the last couple of mile of the run. The castle ruins at the top of the hill with the picturesque little village at the bottom. We actually finished in the open area just beyond the tree line in the mid ground (I stole the picture from the town's website).

If you've been following the blog I've been a little off my training for the marathon and it really showed. If I'd only done the 10k I'd of probably finished in a really respectible time and while a 1:55 half marathon is nothing to sneeze at I know I could of gone faster. Here is the data:

Distance: 13:21

Total Time: 1:55:26

AVG Pace: 8:45

Total Calories: 2027

AVG HR: 179 bpm

Max HR: 188 bpm

Pace

Mile 1: 7:55

Mile 2: 8:07

Mile 3: 8:10

Mile 4: 8:12

Mile 5: 8:15

Mile 6: 8:23

Mile 7: 8:23

Mile 8: 8:30

Mile 9: 8:39

Mile 10: 9:03

Mile 11: 9:35

Mile 12: 10:19

Mile 13: 10:07

.21 Mile: 8:15

Zone 1 Time: 0:06 Distance: 56 ft

Zone 2 Time: 0:03 Distance: 40 ft

Zone 3 Time: 0:46 Distance: 390 ft

Zone 4 Time: 29.27 Distance: 3.2 mi

Zone 5 Time: 1:28:28 Distance: 10.3 mi

I'm In A Lot Of Trouble

Well I came home today and was casually asking Shantel what she wanted for Mother's Day since it's right around the corner and I don't want to wait to the last minute and not have her present get here on time.  Boy was I surprised when she told me I'd already gotten her her present and she wasn't real impressed.  What was she talking about?  Well she'd figured out that the Prague Marathon was on Mother's Day.  $#!+ what was I thinking?!?  Because of this I'm not sure if I'm going to do the Prague Marathon.  It also doesn't help that I'm not getting the distances in that I think I should.  We'll see how the Half Marathon goes this weekend.

5 Mile Run

Yesterday was a circuit strength training day.  Not very exciting and not really something I like to do even if I need it. 

Today though was a 5 mile run with the Commander.  Not a shabby run and all of the staff was under a 10 minute average for the whole 5 miles.  Definite improvement.

Tuesday's Workout

Another speed day.  A half mile of 100s then stairs and lunges followed by 2 x 400m.  I turned a 1:20 400m with about 80% effort.  I'm thinking I might be able to break 60 seconds if I tried.  Then again I could be hallucinating.

Monday's Workout

I'm not so much following the workout plan anymore.  I'm just doing what the Captain and Lieutenant I've put in charge of the PT program tell me to do for PT.  I'm trying to get out and do a few things in the evening but stuff is crazy around here as we finish up trying to get ready to deploy to Afghanistan.

Today's workout was a speed workout.  1 mile as fast as you can.  Then a mile of 30 seconds as fast as you can followed by 60 secs of jogging.  I'm still capable of a 6:15 mile so not too disappointing and faster than most of the staff officers.

Week 8 workouts

I'm a little behind on my workouts from missing the three weeks while at Hohenfels and then the last two weeks recovering from Hohenfels and packing stuff up to put it on the train to send it to Afghanistan.  So I'll start at Week 8 which is where I wanted to pickup after Hohenfels.

The sun is starting to come out and I'm going to start seeing if I can get out in the evenings and do a bike ride.  The 16 mile run a tthe end of the week will actually be replaced with a 13 mile run as I do a Half Marathon race in Kallmunz.  I'm hoping it's not too hilly.     

Time For a Change of Pace Beer

I've been drinking a lot of doppelbock lately and I was looking for something a little lighter this weekend.  I was afraid that the German Grocery Stores would be closed on Friday for Good Friday, so I was stuck with what I could get at the shopette on post.  I saw a six pack of blonde belgian ale and thought that would do the trick.  Little did I know that  it was a member of the Inbev-Anheuser Busch company, true disappointment I was looking for something only available in Europe.  Here's what I thought

This was from the Leffe Brewery in Belgium, a blonde Belgium Ale.  It was very crisp and light with a slight fruity taste.  Some of the reviews I've read talked about a banana finish.  I didn't get it but I may have just missed it.  It did go down smooth and had a pleasant taste.  No that's not me being silly with the beer in the wine glass.  Both the package and the video in the link suggest serving it in a chalice like glass so that the aroma is released properly and the head forms.  It was interesting.  Probably not a repeat but it was good break from the starkbiers I've been drinking lately.

Finally A Bike Ride

There were no long runs this week, lots of speed work and more ab and core work as I work out with the Staff.  I've got to get more distance in next week.

Good news though is I finally took the wrapping paper off my Tri Bike and got a ride in.  Not a real long one since I haven't even been on the spin bike since early FEB, just something to check the bike and make sure it is functioning and to work the legs.  I found some good hills and had a great ride.  Here's the rollup.

Distance : 23:77mi
Total Time: 1:33:46
AVG Speed: 15.2 mph
Total Calories: 1420
AVG HR: 161 bpm
Max HR: 193 bpm

Zone 1 Time: 0:00 Distance: 0 ft
Zone 2 Time: 2:18 Distance: 0.4 mi
Zone 3 Time: 11:18 Distance: 3.6 mi
Zone 4 Time: 44.43 Distance: 13.5 mi
Zone 5 Time: 37:07 Distance: 6.6 mi